Rāvaṇa Vadha (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa)

Rāvaṇa was the ten-headed king of the rākshasas of Laṅkā. He was a scholar of the Vedas, a great tāpasa (one who does tapas, austerity) and a devotee of Bhagavān Śiva. His death at the hands of Śrī Rāma is the central event for which the whole war of Laṅkā was fought. Śrī Rāma killed him with the Brahmāstra, which Agastya Maharshi gave him. Many days and nights of war had passed. Prahastha, Kumbhakarṇa and Indrajit had fallen. Then Rāvaṇa himself came to the field for the last time. The meeting of Rāma and Rāvaṇa was so great that devas, siddhas, gandharvas and nāgas gathered in the sky to watch. The Brahmāstra, handed down from Brahmā to Indra, from Indra to Agastya, and from Agastya to Śrī Rāma, pierced Rāvaṇa’s heart and ended his life.

The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa tells this in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 96–115. The Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa also tells it, in its Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, with added scenes.

Rāvaṇa comes to the field

Rāvaṇa’s best commanders had fallen: Prahastha (Chapter 59), Kumbhakarṇa (Chapter 68) and last Indrajit (Chapter 91). His grief turned into a great rage. He went down to the battlefield himself, set on finishing what his son could not. Mātali, the charioteer of Indra, also came. Indra had sent him with Indra’s own divine chariot as a gift for Śrī Rāma. Rāma was fighting on foot, and with the chariot he could stand level with the rākshasa king who rode in one. This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 103.

The first fight

Rāvaṇa came onto the battlefield like a dark storm. He used the tāmasa-astra, a weapon whose presiding deva was Rāhu, against the vānara armies. It caused great destruction, and vānaras fell in hundreds across the field. Śrī Rāma met it with the āgneya-astra. Rāvaṇa then used the asura-astra. Out of it came armies of roaring lions, great serpents, burning wolves, tusked boars and other fearful creatures, all in the form of arrows. Rāma destroyed them all with the āgneya-astra, whose arrows took the forms of fire, sun, moon, planets, comets and lightning. This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 100.

Rāvaṇa then used the raudra-astra made by Maya Dānava. From his bow poured śūlas (spears), gadās (maces), musalas (clubs), pāśas (nooses) and thunderbolts. At the same time Lakshmaṇa was fighting, and he met Rāvaṇa in bāṇa-paramparā, a line of arrows, matching him arrow for arrow. This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 101.

The Śakti and the fall of Lakshmaṇa

Rāvaṇa had a śakti, a divine spear he had received from Brahmā, which no weapon could turn aside. He threw it at Lakshmaṇa. Lakshmaṇa’s arrows struck it but could not turn it. The śakti pierced Lakshmaṇa’s broad chest, and he fell to the ground. Rāvaṇa rushed to carry him off, but he could not lift him. Lakshmaṇa, the avatāra of Śesha, was too heavy for the arms of a rākshasa. Hanumān was furious. He struck Rāvaṇa on the chest with his fist. Rāvaṇa was driven to his knees, spat blood, and fell senseless on the floor of his chariot. This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 101.

Hanumān then lifted Lakshmaṇa in his arms and carried him to Śrī Rāma. Sushena, the vānara physician who had gone with Hanumān on the journey for the herbs, gave the divine oshadhis (healing herbs) again. The śakti had no more work to do, so it flew back to Rāvaṇa’s chariot and stayed there. Lakshmaṇa rose, healed. This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 102.

Śrī Rāma then climbed on Hanumān’s shoulders, as Bhagavān Vishṇu climbs on Garuḍa, and carried the war to Rāvaṇa. He called out to him: “You who carried off Sītā! Where will you run? Indra, Yama, Sūrya, Agni, Śiva — none of them can save you. Not even your own Śiva can give you shelter from me now.” This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 101.

The great duel, day and night

What followed was a great war that went on through day and night, through many muhūrtas with no pause. Rāvaṇa and Rāma matched each other arrow for arrow and astra for astra. Neither could gain the upper hand. Rāma broke Rāvaṇa’s bow, and Rāvaṇa took up another. Rāma split Rāvaṇa’s crown with a crescent-headed arrow, and Rāvaṇa made a new one by his power. Rāma destroyed Rāvaṇa’s chariot, and a new one appeared. The sky above the field was black with arrows, and the earth ran with blood. Devas, dānavas, yakshas, nāgas and piśācas all gathered in the sky to watch. This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 107–110.

The Govindarājīya commentary says that in this battle Rāma held back on purpose. It was not from weakness but from the compassion of the Avatāra. Each time Rāvaṇa came near to falling, Rāma paused and gave the rākshasa a last chance to give himself up. It was Rāvaṇa’s pride that sealed his fate.

Agastya’s gift: the Āditya Hṛdayam and the Brahmāstra

Rāma could not find the blow that would end it. Mātali, the charioteer of Indra, reminded him: “The moment the devas spoke of has come. Use the Brahmāstra.” At the same time the great ṛshi Agastya came down from the sky. He taught Śrī Rāma the Āditya Hṛdayam, the stotra (hymn of praise) to Bhagavān Sūrya, which would renew his strength. Then Agastya said: “The time to use the Brahmāstra has come.” This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 107 and 111.

Śrī Rāma took up the Brahmāstra. It is the highest weapon, first made by Brahmā for Indra to win the three worlds, passed by Indra to Agastya, and by Agastya to Rāma. Its tip was fire and sun. Its wings had the speed of Vāyu. It was as heavy as Mount Meru and Mount Mandara together. Its sound was like the hiss of the great serpent. It had never missed its mark since the beginning of creation. It was the weapon of weapons. This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 111.

The death of Rāvaṇa

Rāma fitted the Brahmāstra to the bow, spoke the Vedic mantra for it, drew the bow back to his ear, and let it go. The earth shook as the weapon flew. It struck Rāvaṇa in the middle of the chest and split his heart. Blood poured from every opening of his body. Then, its work done, the arrow came back to Śrī Rāma’s quiver, like an obedient servant returning to its master. Rāvaṇa fell from his chariot onto the field, and his bow fell beside him. The sky broke into joy. The conches of the devas sounded. Flowers rained on Śrī Rāma from the sky. Divine scents filled the air. The earth grew still. This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 111.

The rākshasas who were left ran in terror back to Laṅkā. The vānaras roared in triumph.

Vibhīshaṇa’s grief and Śrī Rāma’s counsel

Vibhīshaṇa fell down in grief when he saw his brother’s body. He cried:

“O brother! You who made Indra tremble, at whose frown even Yama quailed — you lie in the dust, killed by a mere mortal. The sun has set, the fire has gone cold.”

Śrī Rāma comforted him gently. He said: “This warrior did not die running away, or cowering, or begging. He died fighting, and that is the highest road of the kshatriya. One side cannot always win in war. This is the eternal truth. He was mighty. He was learned. He was skilled in the Vedas and the yajñas (fire rituals). His death in battle is honourable. Grief is not right for a hero who fell on the field. Now see to the antyeshṭi, the last rites, that are due to him. He is worthy of respect, both from you and from me.” This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 112.

Maṇḍodarī’s lament

The wives of Rāvaṇa, led by Maṇḍodarī, his chief queen, came out of Laṅkā weeping. They fell over his body. They could not know their husband in the dust. Maṇḍodarī’s lament is one of the most touching in the whole Rāmāyaṇa. She said:

“How can a mortal have killed you? You who held Indra back, who took Kubera’s Pushpaka, who made the three worlds tremble? This Rāma must be Kāla-purusha in human form, or else Indra himself. No ordinary mortal could do this. Truly, I think Śrī Rāma is Śrī Mahāvishṇu come down, born for the good of the worlds.”

She also blamed him. She said: “You brought this on yourself by carrying off Sītā. If you had given her back when Vibhīshaṇa advised it, we would have lived in peace, and Rāma would have been our friend. This ruin is the fruit of your own adharma.”

At the end she said: “This Rāma is Śrī Mahānārāyaṇa Himself, come down in human form for the welfare of all creation. All these vānaras are aṃśas (parts) of the devas.” This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 114.

Antyeshṭi of Rāvaṇa

Vibhīshaṇa performed the last rites for his fallen brother, as Rāma had told him. Rāma said to him: “Enmity ends with death. He is as worthy of honour in death as in life. He is my enemy no longer.” The antyeshṭi was done with full Vedic honours. This is in Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 114.

The account of the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa

In the Rāmacaritamānas of Tulasīdāsa, the death of Rāvaṇa has several added scenes. They are told in the Rāvaṇa-saṃhāra section of the Laṅkā Kāṇḍa.

Rāvaṇa comes back after Jāmbavanta’s blow

Jāmbavanta struck Rāvaṇa senseless, and his charioteer carried him from the field. Rāvaṇa woke at midnight. He was furious that he had been taken from the battle without his consent. He turned on his charioteer in rage and called him a coward and a fool who had robbed him of honour. At dawn Rāvaṇa armed himself fully again and marched back to the field. The vānara armies met him with trees, crags and mountain peaks.

The māyā-yuddha

The vānara host together was too strong for Rāvaṇa. He made himself invisible and turned to māyā-yuddha, war of illusion. In an instant the battlefield was filled with bhūtas, pretas and piśācas in fearful forms, carrying skulls and drinking blood, so that the field became hideous. Then many Hanumāns appeared at once. They surrounded Śrī Rāma and leapt about in joy, and this made confusion. Rāma knew it was illusion. He charged a single arrow and let it fly. That one arrow destroyed the whole rākshasa māyā and made the field as it was.

The heads that grew again

Rāma and Rāvaṇa then stood face to face in open fight. Tulasīdāsa says that this duel can be compared only to itself:

Rāma-Rāvaṇayor yuddhaṃ Rāma-Rāvaṇayor iva.

Rāma shot hundreds of arrows at a time and cut off Rāvaṇa’s heads and arms again and again. But each time they fell to the earth they grew back, just as the greed of a miser grows greater the more he has. Rāma saw that he could not end Rāvaṇa in this way.

Vibhīshaṇa tells the secret

Rāma could not find the weak point. He glanced sideways at Vibhīshaṇa, who stood beside him. Vibhīshaṇa understood that Rāma was without a way, and he told the secret in the words of Tulasīdāsa:

Nābhī kuṇḍa sudhā basa yāke / Nātha jiyata Rāvanu bala tāke

Vibhīshaṇa said: “O Nātha, the rākshasa king lives by the power of the amṛta stored in the pool at his navel. First dry up that pool of amṛta. Then he can be killed.”

The thirty-one arrows and the death

Rāma was deeply pleased with Vibhīshaṇa’s advice. At once he set his highest astra to the bowstring. In that moment fearful omens showed on every side. Comets streaked across the sky. Fires rose on the horizons. An eclipse darkened the sun out of season. The earth shook. Winds howled. Blood rained from the sky. Maṇḍodarī’s heart trembled with a fear she could not explain. The statues in the royal palace wept.

Rāma took the stance called pratyālīḍha, the archer’s stance for loosing. He drew the bowstring to his ear, took careful aim, and loosed thirty-one arrows at once. They flew like the serpents of Kāla and struck Rāvaṇa. They pierced the pool at his navel, cut off all his heads, and cut off all his arms, which crashed to the earth. Still the body, without head or arms, staggered toward Rāma on shaking legs. Rāma split it in two with a single arrow. The arrows then carried Rāvaṇa’s cut-off heads and arms to Maṇḍodarī, and went back to Rāma’s quiver as if they were obedient. On the day of Caitra Śuddha Daśamī the rākshasa king gave up his body. At the moment of his death Rāvaṇa’s teja, the divine radiance he had gathered, left his body and entered Śrī Rāma.

Tulasīdāsa’s verse of victory

Gosvāmī Tulasīdāsa marked the scene with a verse of rare beauty:

Sura sumana varshihi harsha / Saṃkula bāja dundubhi gahagahī /
Saṃgrāma aṅgana Rāma aṅga / Anaṅga bahu śobhā lahī /
Śira jaṭā makuṭa prasūna bica / Bica ati manohara rājahī /
Janu nīlagiri parataḍita paṭala / Sameta uḍugana bhrājahī /
Bhujadaṇḍa sara kodaṇḍa perita / Rudhira kaṇa tana ati bane /
Jaya Rāma munī tamāla para / Baiṭhī vipula sukha āpane

The devas rained flowers in joy, and the divine drums filled the sky with their thunder. On the battlefield Rāma’s dark form shone, with his matted-haired head wreathed in flowers, his long arms bearing the bow and arrows, and his body flecked with drops of sweat from the effort. It shone like a peak of the dark Nīlagiri crowned with lightning and surrounded by the stars. Munis seated on the tamāla trees in the sky cried “Jaya Rāma!” in great joy. By the kind glance of Kosalendu, all the worlds rested in peace and fearlessness.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 96–115 (Chapters 59, 68, 91, 100, 101, 102, 103, 107–110, 111, 112 and 114 are cited above)
• Govindarājīya commentary on the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa
• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa (Rāmacaritamānas of Tulasīdāsa), Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, Rāvaṇa-saṃhāra section